Short hops and hard knocks with Red Sox beat writer Ian Browne.

State of Schilling

With Curt Schilling on a completely different program than the rest of the players — he gets here extremely early for his rehab work and leaves early also — we don’t see him that much in the clubhouse. Today was an exception, and the rehabbing right-hander was insightful — as he usually is when he speaks — on how things are going.

Here is a complete transcript of what was said:

Schilling, “I’m closer to throwing. I don’t know. We’re
getting close. I would argue that we’re close to throwing in the next week to
10 days probably. It’s a big day. I feel great. I feel strong. I feel
everything I’m supposed to feel.”

Compared to January, “There’s no comparison where I am,
physically, strength wise, any of it.”

Pleasantly surprised? “I’m past that part. I got past that
early and just kind of turned into the daily grind thing. Coming in and staying
focused on what I had to get done that day to get my goals met that day and
move on to the next thing.”

“It’s not hard. It never was. There’s a certain challenge to
it because I couldn’t be farther from being a part of the team. But I never
looked at it as hard. It was a necessary part of what was happening. I’ve done
it before. It’s not fun. But you don’t think about those aspects of it. Just
like when I’m pitching, I have a list of things I have on the day I pitch, I
have a list of things I have to do when I come to the park. I’m doing those as
hard as I can do them, as good as I can do them, is my daily thing.”

Strength testing? “We’ve done a bunch of them and we
continue to improve every single one and I think there’s a couple of last
things last things that Mike wants to see and be happy with to move to the next
step.”

Confident you’ll be able to take the next step? “I’ve never
thought otherwise. If I didn’t believe, absolutely, that I would have the ball
in a World Series game, I wouldn’t be doing this. There’s a lot of things that
have to happen between now and then. There’s an assumption, I think, for some people
that don’t really think about this, which most people probably don’t, but, this
is not about just me getting healthy and coming back. I have to be good. I’m
not just going to get the ball because I’m a starting pitcher. I’m going to have
to be good. Last I looked, this rotation didn’t have a hole in it. There’s a
lot of different scenarios that might come about with an innings limit for guys
but I’ve got to come back and be good. I can’t just can’t get healthy and
expect to come back and get a spot. That’s a challenge.”

Once you do start throwing, what happens from there? “Nice
try but no. I don’t know. I really don’t. I don’t think we know. We have an
idea of a time-table but once we start throwing, like anything else, everything
goes out the window and you kind of go day by day on how you feel and what you’re
doing. ”

Starting to feel more connected to team? “Well, no, until I’m
on a schedule that keeps me at the ballpark out of necessity, I’m here and done
most days, usually by like, 2. And, it’s like, my day’s done. I’ve never gone
through this. It’s weird. It’s very odd, very uncomfortable. Like I said, I try
and impact the guys on this team that I’m close with at times when we have time
to talk away from everybody. Then I go do my thing. It’s weird. But, you know,
that’s part of it.”

Harder to leave, or would it be harder to stay once the game
starts, “Oh, it would be a lot harder to hang around the ballpark from 2 to midnight every night with nothing to
do. So there’s no comparison there.”

How close to picking up a ball? “I don’t know. Soon. Very
soon.”

Work right now? “Today is a light day. We’re alternating
heavy and light days. The heavy day just got immensely heavy so the light days
are much, much lighter, to allow … We’ve come to realize the whole way through
this that every time after I have like an off day, I’m immensely better the
following day. The workload on my heavy day is excessive. There’s no pain, no
stamina issues, no strength loss, no lingering effects, which is a huge plus. I’ve
said before and even through now, I haven’t thrown yet. That’s the big piece to
this. I might go, I don’t expect to, but there’s a chance I could go out and
throw next week and I’d just feel miserable and it would all be for naught. I
don’t envision with the amount of work that we’ve done and the things that we’re
doing that I’m going to come back and start throwing and be out. That’s not
going to work. I think that we’re set now to go for an extended period of time
with me throwing and getting more amped up on the throwing side of things to
see how far we can take it.”

Pain free? “Since the injection for the most part. I haven’t
had a day where I’ve had, on a scale of 1 to 10, pain in the two to three
neighborhood and if I had been uncomfortable any day, it’s never been carried
out after I left. I’ve never had any issues up to this point.”

The work of the rotation: “Obviously the last three or four
days have been phenomenal. That, to me, the personality make-up, starting with
John at the top as the pitching coach, is, it’s huge. It’s hard to convey this
without it sounding wrong but you get a competition that is a good thing. The
first piece of that is talented pitchers. You don’t have competition if guys
suck, unless you’re having a competition to see who sucks worse. These guys are
all very, very good to great. You get Josh setting a bar… Obviously Dice-K wants to be a bar setter. And
then you have these kids who, you know, are kind of feeling their way. You’ve
got one who’s just a natural gifted kid and the other kid who is a grinder in
Jonny. They start to do things that maybe they haven’t done before. Then they
start to expect those things. Now you’ve got a whole rotation. Then you have
Wake, who every fifth day takes the ball and has a good chance to win. It’s
been fun to watch, really fun to watch.”

In other matters … Ellsbury is back in the lineup. Coco, sore left knee and sore right hamstring, is out. Drew still out. He’ll be back in there tomorrow. Bartolo Colon will get back on the rehab trail on Monday in Sarasota against a lower minors Orioles affiliate.

Nothing like 9:30 baseball on a Friday night. At least I got to watch the first half of the Celtics game during the rain delay. They need to play better interior defense in the second half.

Update: I also so most of the second half. What a choke job. Garnett made 2 or 3 turnovers in the fourth, Pierce fouled out — admittedly a bad call — with five minutes left. Nobody stepped up to do anything. I’m sure there will be speculation that Doc’s job is on the line in Game 7.

Ian.

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73 Comments

I don’t think Schilling will pitch this year, I hope I am wrong. Schilling always is well spoken with his thoughts and honest. I find that to be very refreshing. Most athletes are not honest and in some cases they shouldn’t be. They need to protect themselves and the team they play for.

Great too see Ellsbury back in the lineup and leading off, right where he belongs.

I would love too see the Sox payback the Rays this weekend. It all starts with Bucholtz tonight. Jackson has had his issues at Fenway, they beat him up good last July 4th. Usually if Jackson has that one bad inning, he falls apart. He gets down on himself too quick, he has a pity party out there on the mound. Jackson was in total control last Sat. night, that will not be the case tonight.

Bucholtz is the last starter to win a game. April 21, Patriots Day, I hope he continues his hot hand tonight. Bucholtz has done quite well at Fenway so far in his young career. I expect more of the same tonight from him. Let’s hope Bucholtz can continue another great start by a Boston starter.

Buchholz was dominant and I predict another good start.
His ERA should be lower, but all was his bad start against the Yankees. Amazing what one start at Yankee Stadium can do to your ERA.
I also agree about Ellsbury at the top, he brings a spark

Hey guys! Welcome all new comers too. Hows everyone? Lets see what Buch has tonight. Should be interesting. Hope the bats get goin. I plan to take up Communications and Journalism in college and Criminal Justice.

Wow, three people (including myself) from the Orlando area on here. If you live in Central Florida, feel free to visit http://www.redsox.meetup.com/131. In addition to my role with Sox and Pinstripes, I also head Red Sox Nation Orlando, and we are gathering on Sunday afternoon to watch the game at a new Irish bar (owned by a native Bostonian) called Trotter’s in Metrowest. Feel free to sign up for the group and join us on Sunday!

I have ION but they never show the game. Even when the Orlando Sentinel’s tv listings say it is on ION on my cable network, it hasn’t been on. Once it said that the game was on but instead Designing Women was on. Back-to-back episodes. I was pissed. Tonight it wasn’t even listed as being on.

Red Sox with a bunch of 2 out hits. Great situational hitting.
When runners get on, Jackson seems to panic out there. He loses confidence quick.

Celtics fizzled in the 4th qtr. again. There shot selection was just HORRIBLE. Too many jumpers for my liking. Rondo had stage fright at the end of the game. A huge difference at the free throw line in this game but the series as well. A game 7 in Boston on Sunday, who would have thunk ?

Bucholtz looks like a veteran out there. He is on a roll. He can throw all his pitches at anytime in the count. He keeps the hitters off balance. We will be watching him with the Red Sox for a longggggg time, you gotta love it. He seems to love pitching at Fenway.

Brandon Moss did very well tonight. I’m sure if J.D. Drew was up there he’d say, ‘hey a strikeout. That’s great because if I ran to first base I might pull my left finger muscle and have to be out of the game for at least four months…but at least I collect a paycheck. Whew, glad I’m not a player that has to try out there!”

Drew frustrates alot of people, namely Francona and Epstein. I’m sure there are a few others as well. Most fans were not in favor of signing Drew, most fans that know anything anyway. He has one of the worst contracts in baseball. Red Sox are stuck with him and that contract. Boras pulled the wool over the eyes of another team, again!!! I don’t know how he does it but he does it every year.

Of course I would try, the results would be just HORRIBLE, lol. I think Boras could get anyone a big $$$$ deal, the guy is shrewd. I am not a fan of Boras though. His ego is a little large for my liking. I read somewhere, he has about 70 or so people working for him. Pretty amazing agent, no doubt.

Lopez is doing o.k. this year against lefties. I worry about Lopez when the game is very close. Big enough lead for Boston’s bullpen, they should be able to handle it. About time, the Sox have some breathing room.

Good move by Francona to get Bucholtz out. Bucholtz threw about 115 pitches against the Rays his last start. You don’t want Bucholtz to go over 100 tonight, especially after a lengthy delay.

What good is a fastball at 98 m.p.h. when it is thrown out of the strike zone. You are right there. Delcarmen has pitched pretty bad this year. He frustrates me. He has so much talent but can’t seem to put it together for some reason. He also is a Boston guy, gotta love that. I think he will turn it around, I hope.

Don’t sell yourself short here! You could do great out there. I mean, I’ve seen Drew, you will do better. I’m amazed that Drew’s average is in the positive numbers!

Manny is a heartbreaking in a way. He really does have good stuff but he can’t find the strike zone. I just don’t see that killer instinct out there. Papelbon has it. Manny doesn’t.

By the way, great throw by Lugo. he is really showing his major league capabilities. Lugo is so much more interesting than that Rick Burleson guy who was just so boring out there. I’m sure the Sox always like a guy who gets creative out there.

Manny is still out there. I’m sure the Rays are shivering in their feet over that terrifying prospect. Lopez is looking tired. He has faced about five batters. That’s got to get to you.

I never had that day in the sun. I had fantasies of being Dwight Evans out there but in the end that was a mistake. You have to play as your ability dictates, not what the fantasy big league role model demonstrates.
I am here of course because you are all a great bunch of guys and its great to share my frustrations with someone besides myself. My wife can’t understand any of this but I do.
We love the Red Sox…that’s why we complain about them! (LOL)

Well, Delcarmen really should be thinking if there are openings on the Texas Rangers right now.

Nasty pitch there from Delcarmen. That is what frustrates me about Delcarmen. He is so talented and he struggles out there. Tavarez, Lopez and Timlin, they are what they are. Delcarmen should be more dominating out there. A blazing fastball and a very good slider, that is a great combo coming out of the pen. Why is he so inconsisent out there ?

I’m sure he’s thinking ‘did you see that. Did you see that! Can I walk the guy or what! Man I am the best…oh wait…that wasn’t good was it!”

Fortunately he struck out the next batter. Everyone deserves a break. Ironic because the momentum shifted after Lugo’s excellent throw to first base that turned Youk into a cheerleader. The Sox can find so many ways to show how tough they are as a team.

I would agree with you about Ramirez with the fastball lately. Especially up in the strike zone, just like last year. Ramirez can’t wait too see Mussina again, lol. His 85 m.p.h. fastball right down broadway is a great thing.

Offensively I can really see the need for Pedroia and Ellsbury to bring in runs. Manny and David are just shut down for a while and that will not change anytime soon. In my opinion until Manny goes to 501 he will be useless for a bit.

I hate to say this for I’ve tried to be tolerant but I’m done with Lugo. He’s a lousy clutch hitter and his error count continues to rise. He really is not cutting it and I hate to admit simply because there are better shortstops out there.

That milestone of 500 longballs might take a bit, it always seems to happen that way with milestones. Banner or no banner. I think Ortiz’s knee is hurting, he just can’t drive with his legs. That head first slide last Friday night didn’t help the situation.

Lugo will have 20 errors or more. He had a very lenghty at bat there but couldn’t come up with the hit. Lugo’s throws can get him in trouble at times.

I wouldn’t have had Papelbon come in to this game. Sox were up 4. When Moss scored on the Varitek double, Papelbon should have sat down. If you can’t get the job done with a 4 run lead in the 9th without Papelbon, big trouble I say.

Thank goodness I’m in central time. I’m going to bed. Very uneventful night for Papelbon. To have him in at the ninth once again speaks volumes to me about Francona’s lack of trust in the bullpen. He wanted Manny to fill that void and so far Manny’s been a disaster. It’s too bad too. Papelbon cannot carry the entire bullpen. He’s only one arm.

I totally agree with you on Francona’s trust in the pen. Right now, there are 2 guys he trusts with the game on the line, Okajima and Papelbon. It showed last night. The Sox need to get 2 more reliable arms in the pen. Aardsma and Delcarmen have the most talent among the guys that are struggling. They can turn it around, not sure if they will though. So far this year Lopez has been effective against lefties, unlike last year. I still don’t trust him when he comes into the game.

Good too see the bats hitting again. Ortiz looks like his knee is still aching but he is playing thru it.

BSB: I didnt think Pap would get the ball tonight either, but who do you put in?, even with the lead they had?? I was fearful (very) that whoever they would put in would choke and cough up the lead.
I’m grateful that Paps took care of business!!
Game 2 tonight:
2-4-6-8– The Sox play tonight at 7 not 8,
3-2-4-1–Come on Josh let’s get it done!!
LETS GO REDSOX LETS GO!!!

Man, my wife calls me a bad fan because I am always complaining about the SOX during games when “they don’t do or execute the way I know they should exactly at that time”, but reading your comments last night, you guys make me feel like a cheerleader!!! You might want to try banishing the complaints a bit (as I am trying to do) and invest in an electronic drum set (as I have done) — set the head phones on, play to your favorite music, watch the game, beat away — it works great!!!

Actually this is the best time of the year to struggle, early, and we are still in first place. Dustin was 1 for 21 before he got a clutch hit last night, Ellsbury cooled off relatively, even Youk. Manny hasn’t had a clutch hit in a while. We just need to get all phases of the game more consistent at the same time and not so much highs and lows.

I can’t remember a single win streak over 5 games (maybe there was) last year until the post season (just the right time) — but we also didn’t have any losing streaks over two games hardly at all last year (not sure if the Toronto sweep was the only 3 game losing streak we had last year). This year we already have a 3 and a 5 game losing streak and shutout or two. So we just need to level out a bit and we will be ok. Its the same guys essentially, they establish the same performance levels or better again this year.

The Sox were up 4 in the 9th. If they couldn’t hold a 4 run lead in the 9th at 12:40 a.m. Why are they on the team? Francona should have put in anyone but Papelbon. You have to at least put them out there. If you don’t trust them, then maybe they should be elsewhere. I have seen Torre do that to guys in his bullpen and he would bury there confidence. That is not good. We all know the pen is there big issue.Iit will be addressed sometime during the season, hopefully sooner than later. Putting together a pen is not easy but Theo has done a pretty decent job with it over the years. So many teams have rag tag arms in there pen, look no further than the Yankees.

I just my first drum set and I think I will do that tonight! Thankfully I didn’t complain too much last night (LOL) I think this is me just venting my frustration over the team. This is of course what happens when you have a terrible schedule, the flu and a pile of injuries. Although I think my comment on Drew is valid. The man would rest with a papercut. There — now I’ll sit back and enjoy tonights game!

Ellen,

I think the choice of Papelbon, which I think even Jerry Remy was puzzled about was a reflection of Francona’s stress level. I think he is basically saying, “I’m a little tired right now and I just want to go home and not have to stress over the bullpen.” I think this is just Francona feeling worn out after Lopez and Manny D. tormented his 6 – 1 game in one inning.
Aardsma was a good choice because he has heat and is a lot like Papelbon but I think Francona just wanted to go home in peace.

Dave, your set electronic or regular tubs? I found I can get a pretty good work out actually — play for about an hour or so through a game (or as long as you can take it) and you actually work up a sweat. If it wasn’t electronic I would be driving my family crazy though — now they just have to put up with the tapping (which is all they can hear).

Maybe we can start a new thing for RSN and join the bull pen in their rally cadences !! hook it up thru the web, blast it through Fenway Park soundsystem — RSN rally cadence LOL.
If it could actually work, wonder what Hank S. would have to come up with to top that???

A great pitching match up tonight. Boston’s best against Tampa’s best. Shields dominated the Red Sox 6 days ago. That will not happen tonight. Ramirez in his career has struggled against Shields, Youkilis as well. Shields has a great changeup, certainly was working against Boston in the dome. Lowell is back in the lineup and I can sense a big game from Lowell tonight. For Lowell, this is like the season starting all over again.

When Beckett starts, you always get the feeling the Red Sox will win and why not. He is the best pitcher in the game. It should be a good one tonight.

I have a Magrane Migrane again. I guess Danny Orsillillio, you know, the Red Sox broadcaster, must be his best friend.

A tough effort by Beckett on a cold, raw night when he didn’t have his best stuff. He gave up a few hard hit balls, but just kept pounding the strike zone. It’s so much easier to pitch when you’re ahead in the count. It would be nice if Lester, Aardsma, Del Carmen and a few others could pay attention to that. If things don’t change, the bullpen will be the undoing of the Red Sox this year, despite having one of the best setup men in Okajima and the best closer in Pap.

My wife wants me to unload it right away so my workout will end real soon. It is a riot though! I can see the advantages of electronics now !Oh well…

I didn’t see the game tonight but good to see the win. Francona was right. This is one nasty division. The division has always been hard but Toronto is going to be nasty.

Looks like Ortiz had one heck of a night. Wow, 3 for 5. Great to see the bats get hot. Ironic that Beckett had a harder time tonight and got the win but his last outing he was a bulldozer and gets the loss. Strange game.

Another solid start from a starter. The bats are alive and kicking in this series, great too see. Oritz with 3 hits, which is even better too see. Everyone got involved tonight at the plate, you gotta love that.

Tough conditions and Beckett didn’t have his A stuff but showed you why he is the best in the game. He gutted it out for 8 innings, unlike Shields. Shields never got comfortable out there, he basically pitched from the stretch all night. Both Shields and Beckett were constantly blowing on there hands, I could feel the cold weather thru my t.v. LOL.

Ok, who can say the RSN rally cadance didn’t work last night? LOL — was on the drums for the first 4 innings last night — and the offense definitely woke up (scientific proof, one game, and of course that is sole reason why). Unfortunately, I will not be at home during the game today, maybe can make it home by the later innings to continue scientific testing of this theory — to prove the utter non-sense and folly of any form of superstition.

So if I were actually to believe this (for some deluded reason) — how mean and foolish it would be to assume the SOX couldn’t keep hitting because no drum cadance in remote New England was being pounded. How different is that that running to the infield, then walking, or the many other superstitions in baseball, like Garciapara’s exaggerated ritual.

I was a fan of Garciapara early on, but then his superstitions really started to change my confidence in him and actually was one of the reasons I welcomed the trade believe or not. Would I want those superstitions working against my team at a crucial time? If I were his manager (to help him and his team) — I would say tohim, you are benched until you decide you can go to plate a quit that non-sense with your gloves. Once you can prove to me, that you have confidence in yourself, and not your superstitious ritual, then you can play for us again — and not until then. I am sure that would have made a better and more consistent player out of him than putting up with that bad habit.

Baseball loves superstition, but it only hurts the players and the game, doesn’t help. Most players have some sort of belief that its 90% mental, or something like that, — so why link your ability to something non-sense that has nothing to do with your ability, if you were thinking correctly at all?

Interesting about superstitons. Ever notice David Ortiz’s at bats? I think back to Wade Boggs who walked the exact same spot back to the dugout. Drove the ground crew nuts because there was that patch of grass they couldn’t keep in good repair because of it.
Supersitution, I think is the poorer label. I think a better one is, as you said, strange habits. When everything in baseball is consistency you try to crack your brain open and figure out what you are doing that keeps you in the game. The olympics have gone high-tech with computers and simulations to tap the best of an athlete. Baseball is still 18th century technology. It’s amazing why some trainers (hitting, etc) can’t just take advantage of technology. Consider Manny. He definately is falling flat. He can’t hit a paperbag lately and yes he still hits but you can see the over-the-plate fastballs he just fouls off. Imagine what that technology could do for him. Scan the data in a computer and do comparisons from good and bad and make adjustments. Why isn’t baseball going high-tech?

Good luck on the game today Red Sox. Please generate some hits. We need them. Let’s repeat last night. lester deserves the confidence!

Bad news for Brandon Moss. I don’t think he’ll be back for a while. He was playing well and gave the Red Sox some depth as well. Oritz a late scratch, his knee must be aching. Pretty ovbious watching him this year, his knee is nowhere near 100 %. The Red Sox have had there fair amount of injuries/sickness, what is next I ask ? This will make them a much better team. It seems whoever they plug in, they perform. Theo has done a great job adding some quality depth.

Lester walked the tightrope in the 1st but he did escape. Nice grab by Ellsbury in l.f. Not many options for Francona on the bench today. Kazmir making his season debut, he could be a little rusty out there. Jump on him early, don’t let him settle in and find a groove.

I guess the Celtics can get ready for King James and a couple of former Celtics. The youthful Hawks don’t know how to win on the road yet. They sure gave Boston a run for there money. The Cavs know how to win on the road. That should be a great series.

I’ve had knee problems myself. I didn’t go to the surgery route thankfully. However, surgery is not a certain fix. Ortiz got his cartilige (spelling) reshaped but if that happens, changes are his knee cap could have struck an area of the knee that deformed the cartiliage (spelling) again. It’s not age but a combination of his weight and the world he’s in. Ortiz will last a lot longer as a DH but his knee may need more surgery then again it could just he a day or two off.

I wonder how many more times it’s going to take Tito to figure out that Del Carmen doesn’t have what it takes. He is a liability every time he takes the mound. He’s got good stuff and a great arm, but lacks confidence or something. If he’s not walking someone, he’s giving up some kind of rocket to let in runs. You hope a kid with such great potential finds his way, but he can’t keep looking at the expense of the team. The Sox have exactly nobody to get a game to Oki and Pap. That needs to be fixed, quickly.

You are all right about Manny and high heat. He just can’t keep up with it any more. He fouls off 93-95 mph fast balls right down the middle, and the fouls are always to the right side because he is late on them. Just now, two fast balls, right down the middle, thigh high and Manny had no chance. I also think he’s trying too hard to hit home runs. He has too many big swings and big swings are longer and slower. He needs to go back to driving the ball up the middle and to right center…… the HRs will come.

I totally agree with you about Delcarmen. Right now he is a disaster. You need confidence when you take the hill in the big leagues. You can’t pitch afraid, the hitters sense that.

This 10 game road trip, the pen will be exposed a couple of times. You can bet on that. The Red Sox hit so much better at Fenway and can make-up for that bullpen. When you go on the road, that is a totally different story.

The Sox have swept the Rays, payback is great, isn’t it ? The Boston bats were so silent against the Rays last weekend, what a difference a week makes. This Rays pitching staff got smoked this weekend.

When Papelbon comes in, you might as well put in the win column, the fat lady is singing when he comes into the game. The opposition has ZERO chance when he is in. What a weapon he is.

I keep hoping Delcarman might meet with the pitching coaches. I’m sure Tito has (or will have) a talk with him. Right now Cora looks pretty good right now compared to Delcarman. The problem is you get rid of him and he’ll go on another team and become their closer. I’m sure the Sox are afraid of that. Boston is high pressure and I’m sure on the any other team he’ll be deadly. Have to wait and see.
J.D. Drew did not hit today. His average is plummeting rapidy. Mike Lowell is also struggling to find his stride. Lowell I have trust in to turn it around. Lugo keeps making errors. Alex Cora feels like he’ll be out for the season. He’s been on the DL forever. Manny and Timlin might as well be playing catch with Varitek. Manny R. is trying too hard. He’s got the Yastremski curse. Those Cooperstown benchmarks can really kill a batting average. My guess is Manny will get his next homer in a month when he gets fed up with trying for 497 and then he’ll sail in on 520 before the year ends.

On the good front, Nothing but good to say about Lester and Buckholtz. Remember those first few starts? Right now Lester and Buchhotlz are smoking. The only problem with Lester it pitch count but once he settles in he will do it. I feel confident we have another Bruce Hurst on our staff. We have two great pitchers and of course Beckett. Dice K will come around and Wakefield has been awesome. We also have Papelbon and Oki. Lopez has now reached tolerable and that’s positive.

On the great front they are in first place and will face the struggling Tigers. Let’s hope they continue to struggle.

I’m paying attention to former Red Sox player, now manager Cecil Coopers’ Astros and they are doing pretty good. .500 right now. The redsox will see the Astros and Cooper in interleague play in July.(The reason I mentioned this is because Cooper)

I remember meeting Cooper as an adult. He had by then moved on. He signed autographs and was accessible but also very serious and stoic. I miss him. It was a crazy trade to go for George Scott but at the same time it was nice for Scott to return to the Sox. I thought though the Sox should have kept Cooper. He may have had a little slump in the World Series but that still doesn’t explain why he was pulled. I hope it wasn’t Tom Yawkey’s decision because Roger Moret also remained out of the lineup as well in that 75 series.

I want to add that Gagne blew another save but otherwise has been stellar. I heard that in his early days he was so unstoppable that when he came up the club left for the showers by the second out. Gee, what happened to him?

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